Photo Flash: Venus in Fur Runs on theAlley's Neuhaus Stage October 11 – November 10, 2013

In Venus in Fur, Brandon Weinbrenner, Alley Theatre Resident Assistant Director, makes his Alley Theatre directorial debut. Venus in Fur features Michael Bakkensen as Thomas, returning to the Alley Theatre after the world premiere of Ether Dome, and Nicole Rodenburg as Vanda, making her Alley Theatre debut.

Theatrical mastermind David Ives' sexy, provocative comedy was a 2012 Tony nominee. Venus in Fur is an electrifying game of cat and mouse between a young actress and a demanding playwright-director that blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, seduction and power, love and sex. Set in a rehearsal studio, Venus in Fur pits Vanda, a talented and hungry actress who is determined to win the lead role, against the controlling writer-director Thomas. In this fast-moving 90 minute play, Thomas is drawn into reading his own script with the seducing and enigmatic Vanda, producing a sizzling exploration of sexual control and attraction.

In Ives' play, the script that Thomas has written is an adaptation of "Venus in Furs," the 1870 erotic novella by Leopold Sacher-Masoch. This novella became infamous in the 19th Century when the author's last name inspired Austrian psychiatrist Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing to coin the term "masochism."

Called "a seriously smart and very funny stage seminar on the destabilizing nature of sexual desire" (New York Times), "the play is a tug of war for power between a man and a woman" (New York Daily News). "Role-playing takes on a whole new meaning" (New York Post). This "don't miss" play is described by the Wall Street Journal as "deadly serious" and "madly funny." "You won't see a funnier play this season, or a smarter one. (WSJ) " Strictly Adults Only. Sexual Situations. Language.

Venus in Fur features scenic design by Takeshi Kata and costume design by Tricia Barsamian. Lighting design is by Matthew Richards with sound design by Matt Starritt, Fight Director Leraldo Alzaldúa and dialect, voice and text coach Pamela Prather.

Venus in Fur, by David Ives, directed by Brandon Weinbrenner, begins performances Friday, October 11 opens officially Wednesday, October 16, and runs through November 10, 2013 on the Neuhaus Stage.

Nicole Rodenburg as Vanda

Nicole Rodenburg as Vanda and Michael Bakkensen as Thomas

Michael Bakkensen as Thomas and Nicole Rodenburg as Vanda